Will it SNOW in Alabama This Winter?

 

NOT likely, but The Press of Atlantic City places Alabama in the battleground between a sure snow and none at all.

(From The Press of Atlantic City)

175 years ago: Medical Association of Alabama founded

 

MASA (An unfortunate acronym/name in Alabama, no?) grew out of a December 1847 meeting of Alabama physicians aimed at addressing concerns about a state medical licensure law passed in 1823. Alabama's licensing standards were very lax, and many physicians were concerned about the level of skill possessed by some licensed doctors in the state. In December 1846 members of the Alabama Medical Society (AMS), a local Selma organization, met and decided to call a statewide meeting of doctors. AMS secretary Dr. Albert Gallatin Mabry sent a letter to the president of the Mobile Medical Society to determine its members' interest in such a meeting. Mabry called for the creation of a state medical society, modeled on those in Mississippi and Virginia, that could develop and enforce a code of ethics and work to improve medical education in the state. He also stressed the need for mental health facilities, which were virtually nonexistent in Alabama at the time. In response, 21 physicians met on December 1, 1847, at the Waverly House in Mobile. 

 This original incarnation of MASA met first in Selma in 1848 and in other cities in subsequent years. Membership never topped 150, and bad business decisions led to its bankruptcy in 1855. The organization remained inactive until 1868, when a group of physicians met in Selma to restructure it. By 1893, its initial membership of 20 had increased to more than 1,000.

 The Association installed a statue of Dr. Marion Sims on the capitol grounds, on the right side of the front steps, in 1938. The statue later became the site of protests because Sims operated on enslaved women without anesthesia, believing they did not feel pain as white women did.

A similar statue of Sims was installed in the 1890's in New York City, but was taken down in 2018.

Another Layoff Day at Gannett

 

The Montgomery Advertiser is owned by Gannett.

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2022/gannett-tells-its-news-division-that-more-layoffs-are-coming-dec-1/

Alabama Ranks Low for Jobs

 Alabama brags about job statistics....but at least one source ranks the state 42nd!

 

A new analysis finds states on opposite coasts most attractive for employment, while states in the South lag. 

The 2022 ranking of the 50 states comes from Wallethub, which looked at two key dimensions: job market (60 points) and economic environment (40 points). The dimensions were evaluated using 35 metrics, including employment growth, worker protection scores, share of workers living in poverty, average length of work week in hours, average commute time and median annual income. 

Below are the top 15 states and bottom 15 states. The complete ranking and scoring can be found here. 

The best 

1. Washington: 69.65
2. Vermont: 69.46
3. New Hampshire: 66.27
4. Colorado: 65.38
5. Minnesota: 64.78
6. Rhode Island: 64.52
7. Massachusetts: 63.75
8. Virginia: 62.84
9. Connecticut: 62
10. New Jersey: 61.56
11. California: 60.90
12. South Dakota: 59.83
13. Utah: 59.71
14. Florida: 59.35
15. Illinois: 57.91

The worst 

36. New Mexico: 49.56
37. Indiana: 49.49
38. Wyoming: 49.36
39. Montana: 49.29
40. Georgia: 47.97
41. Ohio: 47.77
42. Alabama: 46.05
43. South Carolina: 46 
44. Pennsylvania: 45.45
45. Oklahoma: 44.96
46. Arkansas: 42.99
47. Louisiana: 42.59
48. Mississippi: 39.64
49. Kentucky: 37.79
50. West Virginia: 35.45

Democratic teens vs Republican teens

From the most recent PEW report on teens and social media.

Read the Complete Report HERE.

UPDATE: ABC 33/40 reports she has been found. (Missing Montgomery Woman)

 What an awful night for missing persons.....

The Montgomery Police Department is asking for the public's assistance in locating missing person Classie Jones.

Jones is a 72-year-old Black female with black hair and brown eyes and may be living with a condition that may impair her judgement.

Authorities said she was last seen on November 29, 2022 around 4:30pm wearing a brown jacket with black pants and black shoes, in the area of Eton Road in Montgomery, Alabama.

She is described as 5'11" in height and weighs around 150 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of Classie Jones, please contact the Montgomery Police Department at (334) 625-3844 or call 911.

Keep and Ear and an Eye Open tonight!

 

WEATHER INFO FOR TONIGHT

https://www.alabamanews.net/2022/11/29/strong-to-severe-storms-possible-tonight-into-early-wednesday/

 

 

Splash NOT

Which one of these urinal designs virtually eliminates splashes in the men's room?

The story with the answer...is HERE.

Killings

 

 Two Alabama cities are included in a Washington Post story about U.S. cities with steep increases in homicide rates. 

Montgomery is not one of them, though the Capital City has frequently had high murder rates.

"The deadly spike coincided with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic: The rate of killings rose nearly 30 percent in 2020 and remained high through the following year, according to a Washington Post database created to track the toll. Even now, as the bloodshed has slowed, the homicide rate outpaces pre-pandemic levels."

FULL STORY is HERE.

They're gone, the blooms too.

See more of my  photography HERE.
 

Racist Names in Germany

A Civil War Reenactment in Alabama.

 

 A Washington-Post story point out that while the battle continues over changing some of the race-centric names and memorials in the U.S., including in Alabama, there is an ongoing debate is Germany over names that would clearly be considered a problem here. For example the subway stop called "Onkel Toms Hütte"...Uncle Tom's Cabin.

While Germany has made substantial efforts to reckon with its history of Nazism and antisemitism, activists said that is not so true of Germany’s colonial history and its continued engagement with narratives of the American South. Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel “Gone With the Wind” was recently retranslated into German and received rave reviews for maintaining the “dynamism and optimism of the original.”

“I would understand this weird fascination with the South as a safe way to engage with desires of White supremacy,”

The full Washington Post story is HERE.

Religion in Alabama

  The latest stats on religion are out for Alabama.

They show Alabama has 10, 514.0 congregations made up of 3,007,533.0 members, ranking the state 3rd most religious.

 

The biggest? Southern Baptist (There are 54 churches in Montgomery County)

Statewide: 3,324 congregations and 1,392,363 members.

The others in Alabama are listed HERE. 

73.8 % of Montgomery folks attend church.

Only 27.6% of Green County folks do.
 

 

The population of this state was 4,779,736 in 2010. The adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (3,007,553) included 62.9% of the total population in 2010.

Explore ALL of the data for the 2010 census HERE.

 

ALABAMA AIRPORT ON MOST EXPENSIVE LIST

 

These Are The Most Expensive US Airports To Fly From Right Now

 

By Molly Russell

Published 20 hours ago

With the aviation industry still feeling the impact of COVID-19 and rising fuel costs, ticket prices are higher than ever in the United States.

Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Alabama

Coming in third is Birmingham-Shuttlesworth, which has seen an eyewatering 37.5% increase since 2021, bringing the average fare up to $503.

Tickets at Birmingham-Shuttleworth have typically ranked higher than other major airports in the region, though in 2019 ranked as one of the cheaper in the area. While the Alabama-based airport has luckily seen a significant post-pandemic rebound in air travel, increases in ticket prices represent a worrying trend for smaller airports, often leading would-be passengers to seek out cheaper forms of transport or head to larger airports where airfare is typically lower, and schedules are more frequent.

 FULL STORY IS HERE.

FOG Advisory Overnight in Central Alabama

 

Event:	Dense Fog Advisory
Alert:	...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Visibility less than one half mile at times. * WHERE...Portions of central Alabama. * WHEN...Until 7 AM CST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Hazardous driving conditions due to low visibility.
Instructions:	If driving, slow down, use your low beam headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.
Target Area:	Autauga Barbour Bibb Bullock Calhoun Chambers Chilton Clay Coosa Dallas Elmore Greene Hale Lee Lowndes Macon Marengo Montgomery Perry Pickens Pike Randolph Russell Shelby St. Clair Sumter Talladega Tallapoosa Tuscaloosa

TODAY: Kay Ivey signed the Confederate Monument Protection bill into law Five and a half years ago.

 ...and it is still in effect, protecting the many monuments to the confederacy (and other monuments, though it was designed to protect the confederate names and places). Three High Schools in Montgomery are named for confederate figures. The process of renaming them is underway, but the county will likely be required to pay a fine to the state.

     The bill, unsuccessfully introduced in 2016, was co-sponsored by Republican Representative Mack Butler and Republican Senator Gerald Allen in March-April 2017, and signed into law by Republican Governor Kay Ivey on May 25, 2017.

Is a convenience store chain paying AL.COM to promote it's stores?

 

AL.COM---and other media--- never miss a chance to write a "story" (i.e. news release) about the chain of Buckee's stores.

Look at this collection at Google.com.

It's a convenience store chain!!!! Not the second coming.

A few lines in a business report, sure. But this? 

Let's see how they treat the first negative story---if  a crime happens at one of the stores they've spent so much time promoting.

Thanksgiving 2022!

 

Missing from the above photo: Corn on the cob and Greens.

 

 

(Left) Dressing/stuffing, of course.

 

 

 

(Right ) Gently warmed rolls.

(Right) Mac & Cheese! Mmmmmmm...

Turkey Wings.

All delish, and yes, I am filled! Hope your Thanksgiving meal was just as good. 💓

The Wintering of the Night Blooming Cereus

     This the way my ancient plants grow in the Winter when I have them inside...long stringers that will eventually grow into leaves from which blooms may grow!

The blooms!

When the danger of freezing temps is past, I'll put them back outside with no exposure to direct sunlight.

They love good exposure to indirect sunlight.

The Other Confederate Capitol Also Renames 3 Schools

A since removed confederate flag in Montgomery.

 

 Montgomery's School Board has voted to change the names of three schools that have confederate connected names, though two board members voted against it and the change hasn't actually happened so far. And one of the three--Lanier High School--is being closed instead of renamed.

Now the board in the only other Confederate Capital---Richmond, Virginia---is also ditching some confederate school names. The Richmond Times Dispatch reports:

The Richmond School Board on Monday evening voted 5-3 to rename three schools that are named for Confederates: John B. Cary Elementary, Ginter Park Elementary and Binford Middle.

The Confederates for which the schools are named “may not be as well known as some of the others, but they played just as much a heinous role in the trafficking of human beings as the others and … I feel that the namesake of a school actually does set the tone for that school,” said Richmond School Board member Stephanie Rizzi, who represents the 5th District.

“When you … attend a school that’s named after someone you have pride in, it definitely can affect how you feel about that building and whether you feel welcomed or not.”

A statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis 

outside the Alabama State Capitol building.

  

The Montgomery School Board is being fined as much as $75k for making the changes, since they appears to be in violation of the Kay Ivey Protect Confederate Names law.

 

 An Education Week report posted yesterday includes a quote from the Montgomery Superintendent Melvin Brown:

"Alabama still has 30 schools named after Confederate leaders, even after Montgomery Public Schools decided to change its two school names. That is the third highest of any state. Texas has 82 schools named after people associated with the Confederacy, and Georgia has 61, according to an Education Week database that tracks Confederate-named schools nationwide.

Since June 2020, 53 schools have made similar name changes to schools, although there are still approximately 340 schools in 20 states named after Confederate figures."

“I’m hoping that because we were able to pay it, maybe someone else won’t have to,” Brown said about the fine. “I’m hoping they realize that funds that could help schools are paying for ... legacy oppression and non-inclusion.”

15th Anniversary of TimLennox.com

      I scheduled this post to pop up exactly the same time my first post at www.timlennox.com did fifteen years ago. 12:51 PM.

I started this "blog" during my eleven years working at Alabama Public Television, and the first photos I posted were shot during an APT sabbatical in Birmingham.  I woke up early that morning, as usual, and the cold air made for great opportunities for this photographer.

It was November 23, 2007, and I really had no idea exactly what I was going to do with www.timlennox.com. But my renewed interest in photography was going to be a part of it. And I wrote about the arrival of digital cameras! Here are some of the photos I included in that first posting:

 

 Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Washington Post Story about Alabama & West Virginia

 

Why Alabama and West Virginia suddenly have amazing high-school graduation rates

 HERE's the story.

Days before Thanksgiving: A Death Penalty Pause.

 

The chair is still an option.

"Gov. Kay Ivey is ordering a top-to-bottom review of the state’s execution protocol after three failed lethal injections.

Ivey is asking Attorney General Steve Marshall to withdraw the state’s requests to set execution dates for Alan Eugene Miller and James Edward Barber. Those are the only two death row inmates with motions pending before the Alabama Supreme Court."

(Alabama still executes prisoners by a three-times failed lethal injection, but the prisoners also have the option of selecting the old electric chair instead. No prisoner has done so since that option was made available.)

 

"Working with Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm, Ivey wants to ensure the state can successfully deliver lethal injections in death penalty cases.

“For the sake of the victims and their families, we’ve got to get this right. I don’t buy for a second the narrative being pushed by activists that these issues are the fault of the folks at Corrections or anyone in law enforcement, for that matter. I believe that legal tactics and criminals hijacking the system are at play here."

 (full story HERE at Alabama News Network.)

The Most Banned Books of 2021-2022

 

From CBS

"During the 2021-2022 school year, more than 1,600 books were banned from school libraries. The bans affected 138 school districts in 32 states, according to a report from PEN America, an organization dedicated to protecting free expression in literature. 

And the number of bans are only increasing yearly. 

Texas and Florida lead the nation in book bans — a revelation that recently spurred Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot to call her city a "book sanctuary." 

But what are the most commonly banned books in America, and why are they considered controversial? Here are the 50 most commonly banned books in America from the 2021-2022 school year, with data supplied by PEN America."

 

HERE are the 50.

Why is Alabama's #1 Banned Book---To Kill A Mockingbird---not on the list? idk. but look at this map. Is Alabama removing itself from the book banners list?

 

Yelp’s Top 100 US Restaurants 2022

 No, not even a single Alabama restaurant on the list.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Yelp.
 

The other confederate capital

 The "other" one has a confederate battle underway over the city's last confederate statue...

"RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Four indirect descendants of Gen. A.P. Hill have asked a Richmond court to overturn a judge’s decision that allows the city to remove and donate its last Confederate statue.

While other Confederate monuments in Richmond have been removed, the fate of A.P. Hill has been complicated due to the general’s remains being buried beneath the statue. This required the city to get a court order to remove the remains.

Four “collateral descendants” of Hill, people with a common ancestor but who do not descend directly from him, challenged Richmond’s effort in court."

There is no such battle in Montgomery, home to multiple statues and confederate memorials.

The largest is on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol Building.

As CNN reported earlier this year, there are efforts underway to add additional protections to the 156 confederate monuments or memorials remaining in Alabama.
 

The confederate battle flag was removed from the Alabama confederate monument by Rebublican Governor Robert Bentley.